Soar to new heights in your mixed media crafting with Media Fluid Acrylics and other Media mediums to create this very dimensional vintage with a hint of steampunk canvas.

Items Needed:

• DecoArt Media Misters - Carbon Black (DMM08-30)
• DecoArt Media Mediums and Specialty Products - Gesso - Black (DMM19-71)
• DecoArt Media Mediums and Specialty Products - Clear Matte Medium (DMM20-71)
• Andy Skinner Stencils 6x6 - Baroque (ANDY52-K)
• Andy Skinner Stampendous
• Black Embossing Powder
• Verdigris Embossing Powder
• Black Ink Pad
• Embossing Ink Pad
• Fired Brick Distress Ink Pad
• Spray Sealer
• Non-stick Craft Sheet
• Glue Stick And Hot Glue
• Chipboard Gears
• Small Metal Gears, Snaps, And Springs
• Black 20 Gauge Wire
• Bronze 24 Gauge Wire
• Paintbrush
• Cardstock
• Circular Lids
• Spray Bottle
• Baby Wipes/ Paper Towels
• Palette Knife
• Vintage Photograph
• Copy Paper
• Computer And Inkjet Printer
• Fabric Scraps

Instructions:

Begin by tearing or cutting pieces of cardstock to fit the 6” x 6” canvas. Brush a generous amount of Americana Decoupage on the top of the canvas and arrange the cardstock pieces. They may overlap and you may not fill the entire surface of the canvas. Repeat this process for each of the sides, always brushing a generous amount of Americana Decoupage first then adding the cardstock.

Slightly dilute each of the Media Fluid Acrylics with a little water before you brush them onto the canvas to decrease their opacity. I began with Blue Green Light, brushed it on and wiped away excess with a baby wipe. Heat set. Next I repeated the process with Cerulean Blue followed by Hansa Yellow Medium. I added the colors until I was happy with the results.

Set the canvas upright and squeeze a little of the Cadmium Red Hue Paint along the front edge of the canvas. Spritz the paint with water and allow it to flow down the front of the canvas, creating a run. You can move the canvas to manipulate the path of the paint. Heat set. Repeat this step using Hansa Yellow Medium and heat set. Next using your finger, randomly swipe some Carbon Black Paint onto the edges of the canvas. Heat set. Brush another coat of Americana Decoupage over the canvas to seal. Allow to dry. 

Tape Andy Skinner’s Baroque Stencil to the lower left hand corner of the canvas to secure it in place. Using a palette knife, scrape some Media Black Modeling Paste over the stencil. Carefully remove the stencil and allow the design to dry. Immediately wash the palette knife and stencil.

Apply Permanent Black Ink to Andy Skinner’s “peeled paint” stamp and randomly stamp onto the canvas face.

Pour a small amount of Titan Buff onto a non stick craft sheet. Using a small circular lid (in this case I used the top off of a paint bottle), dip the lid into the paint and randomly “stamp” circle images onto the face of the canvas. Repeat this process using Carbon Black paint as well. Be sure to only partially stamp some of the circles along the edges of the canvas face. Allow to air dry or gently heat set.

Tape the word “SOAR” from Andy’s Serendipity Stencil to the upper left corner of the canvas to secure it. Using a small foam piece, stencil “SOAR” onto the canvas with Black Gesso. Remove the stencil, and allow the Gesso to air dry or gently heat set it. Immediately wash the stencil. 

Return the “SOAR” stencil over the black lettering and tape in place. Using another small piece of foam, apply Embossing Ink over all of the letters. Lightly sprinkle Black Embossing Powder over the letters, not completely covering them. Then sprinkle a little Verdigris Embossing Powder over the black powder. Remove the stencil and gently heat set the letters to create black glossy yet patina dabbled letters. Clean stencil.

Size and print a vintage photograph on your computer that you want to use on the canvas. The photo I used measures approximately 4 ½” x 2 ¾”. Print out the photograph(s) using an inkjet computer onto inexpensive copy paper. Brush a generous coat of Americana Decoupage Matte over the photographs and also a little outside of the photograph. You will be applying at least 3-4 coats of Decoupage, alternating the direction of your brush strokes between each layer. I usually begin by brushing vertically. Allow the Decoupage to dry between each coat. So, first layer is brushed vertically. Second layer is generously brushed on horizontally. Allow the Decoupage to dry. Next coat is brushed on vertically and so on. Try to remove the brush strokes as much as possible with each layer.

Once all of the layers of Decoupage have been added and are dry, cut out around the photograph, leaving some border area. Turn the photo over with paper side up and generously spritz it with water, allowing the water to soak into the paper. (You may also put the photograph in a bowl of water for a few seconds to allow the paper to get wet). GENTLY begin rubbing your finger in a circular motion, removing the wet paper and revealing the transferred image of the photograph onto the Decoupage “skin”. Continue to spritz or wet the paper surface and rub until all of the paper is removed. Allow to dry thoroughly. You will see a soft of white-ish film over the photograph. This is more paper pulp that needs to be removed from the photograph. Spritz the photograph again and gently rub off this pulpy surface. The pulpy surface will reappear once the skin has dried again but do not worry. Once most of it is removed, you will be able to adhere the vintage photograph to a background using American Decoupage Matte or Media Matte Medium and the pulpy surface will disappear.

While your photograph is drying with its layers of Decoupage, you can create your background. I used a scrap piece of cardstock and gently added Hansa Yellow Medium and Cadmium Red Hue to it using a baby wipe. 

Once the vintage photograph “skin” transfer is ready to be adhered to the background, apply a thin coat of Media Matte Medium (you can also use Americana Decoupage Matte) to the surface of the background and also to the backside of the photo “skin”. Lay the “skin” on top of the background and gently rub over the surface of the photograph, bonding it to the background.

When the two are bonded together, tear around the edges of the “skin” to remove most of the excess edges. Squirt a little Carbon Black paint onto a craft sheet and with your finger, randomly blacken the edges of the vintage photo. This gives it more definition.

Create faux metal rusty patina gears by following the progression of aging them as seen in the photo. Number 1 is a plain chipboard gear. Number 2 is a chipboard gear that has been painted with a coat of Quinacridone Gold. Let dry or heat set. Number 3 is that painted gear after it has been lightly sprayed with Media Black Mister. Let dry or heat set. Number 4 is adding the patina look. Mix a small amount of Blue Green Light and Titanium White onto a craft sheet. With your finger, dab small amounts of color randomly onto the painted and sprayed gears. Repeat as necessary to achieve the patina effect. Let dry or heat set.

Using the Bronze 24 Gauge Wire, create interesting dimensional pieces by wiring real metal pieces onto the faux metal gears whoever you want them to appear on your canvas. Create depth of the faux metal gears by stacking them using small painted dowel rods in between.

Poke a small hole in the hand area of the vintage photograph and add a piece of Black 20 Gauge Wire to use as a kite string.

Create a kite by cutting a diamond pattern out of scrap cardstock. I colored the kite using Fired Brick Distress Ink. Seal each piece of the kite with spray sealer. Press each piece of the kite into an Embossing Ink Pad and cover with Clear Embossing Powder. Remove excess powder and heat set the kite front and back. Once cooled, glue the top ¾ of the kite together, leaving the bottom open (to attach to the wire). With your finger, add Black Carbon paint to the edges of the kite to give it definition. Hot glue the kite onto the wire end and add small pieces of torn fabric as kite tails.

Assemble the canvas using hot glue to hold everything in place.